Principal Investigator(s):
United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Summary:

The overall purpose of this study was to examine the influence of
variations in early childcare histories on the psychological
development of infants and toddlers from a variety of family
backgrounds. This general objective was addressed through a
prospective, longitudinal study of the experiences of 1,364 children and
their families, which took into account the
complex interactions among child characteristics and those
of the human and physical environments in which
the children were reared.
Research Goals
The specific research aims were as follows:
Examining the relationship between infants' childcare
arrangements (defined in terms of hours, type, quality, and
stability of care and the age at which the child entered care)
and children's concurrent and long-term development.
Specifically, the study investigated the association between
children's experiences in childcare and their social, emotional,
language, and cognitive development. The social-emotional
assessments included measures of attachment, independence,
compliance, behavior problems, prosocial and antisocial behavior,
and general competence in interacting with peers. Cognitive variables
include general developmental level and problem solving skills. Language
assessments incorporated measures of children's expressive and receptive communicative competence.
Examining whether the social ecology of the home
moderates the effects of childcare, i.e., whether children
from different home environments are differentially affected by
similar childcare experiences. The study examined the
moderating effects of parents' values and attitudes,
psychological adjustment and mental health, stress and social
support, child-rearing practices, time use, interactions with the
child, the marital relationship, and family demographics.
Examining whether individual differences among children
moderate the effects of infant care on child development. The
study examined the moderating effects of such child
characteristics as age, sex, health, birth order, and
temperament.
Identify demographic and family characteristics
associated with families' childcare decisions. The study examined whether
specific childcare arrangements are related to
the parents' social class, marital status, psychological
adjustment and personality, child-rearing values and attitudes,
parenting practices, stress, social support, marital
relationship, and the availability of childcare in the community.
Provide a natural history of infant care in the
1990s, and help establish a baseline of data pertaining to the
kinds of care being used by families. Whereas other national
databases, such as those provided by the United States Census Bureau, provide
static estimates of the number of children in different types of
childcare, this network study supplements that knowledge
with longitudinal data on successive enrollments into day care at
various ages, patterns of arrangements used concurrently and over
time, and the stability of arrangements during the first three
years of life. One of the most valuable aspects of the
collaborative study is the opportunity it provides to obtain a
more complete and accurate picture of patterns of infant care
used by families today. Census surveys use only gross categories
of care (e.g., center vs. in-home). In this study, more fine-grained
information regarding the types of centers and home-care
facilities was gathered.
Examine the consequences for families of maternal
employment and childcare choices. Family relationships,
parental mental health, family stress, and so on, are not just
inputs to child development or moderators of childcare effects,
they are also outcomes. High-quality childcare may alleviate
family stress and enhance parental adjustment. Low-quality childcare may add to the stress parents experience. Although the main
focus in the study was on the effect of childcare on the child, the
study also examined the effect of childcare on the family.
Identify demographic characteristics of childcare
associated with childcare quality. Of interest to policy makers
is another aspect of the study, the investigation of those
regulatory characteristics that predict care of higher quality.
These characteristics included the level and type of caregiver
training, the size of the childcare group, the auspices of the
childcare program (public/private, profit/nonprofit,
independent/chain, employer-sponsored/church-based), whether the
facility was licensed or unlicensed, the level of payment and
fees, and whether the caregiver was a relative of the family.
Data File Organization
309 data files were compiled for this study and are organized
into 3 main groups:
Analytical Data Sets (ADS) -- The raw data were examined and
composites defined by small groups of individual principal investigators
according to the demographic, family, childcare, and child outcome content of
the data. The psychometric and distributional qualities of the variables along
with site differences was examined. A set of variables that was
psychometrically and distributionally acceptable to be used in analytic
analyses was designed to test the study hypotheses. These data files comprise Parts
1-42 of the study data material.
Supplemental Data Sets -- New and revised analysis variables as
well as across-time mean scores and primary composites were produced as a
supplement to the original Analytical Datasets. These data files comprise
Parts 43-55 of the study data material.
Raw Data Sets -- The raw data were made available and
comprise Parts 56-309 of the study data material.
Training Workshop Recordings
A three day summer training workshop on the SECCYD was put on by the NICHD at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Recordings of that workshop, coordinated with the Powerpoint slides used during presentations, are freely available to the public at the addresses described below.
Day One - Part I (http://lecb.physics.lsa.umich.edu/CWIS/browser.php?ResourceId=1630)
Introductions and Participant Research Questions - James Griffin
Overview of Study - James Griffin
Schedule of Data Collection - Bonnie Knoke
Demographic Data - Bob Bradley
Day One - Part II
(http://lecb.physics.lsa.umich.edu/CWIS/browser.php?ResourceId=1632)
Family Data - Margaret Owen
Orientation to using the Data and Documentation - Bonnie Knoke
Day One - Part III
(http://lecb.physics.lsa.umich.edu/CWIS/browser.php?ResourceId=1633)
Data Documentation: Hands-on Training - Bonnie Knoke
Day One - Part IV
(http://lecb.physics.lsa.umich.edu/CWIS/browser.php?ResourceId=1634)
Data Orientation: Merging Data Files - Robert Corwyn
Child Care Data - Margaret Owen
Day One - Part V
(http://lecb.physics.lsa.umich.edu/CWIS/browser.php?ResourceId=1635)
Secondary Data Analysis - Peg Burchinal
Day One - Part VI
(http://lecb.physics.lsa.umich.edu/CWIS/browser.php?ResourceId=1636)
NICHD Funding Opportunities - James Griffin
Day Two - Part I
(http://lecb.physics.lsa.umich.edu/CWIS/browser.php?ResourceId=1637)
Social Data - Martha Cox
Peer Data - Martha Cox
Cognitive Data - Dan Keating
Day Two - Part II
(http://lecb.physics.lsa.umich.edu/CWIS/browser.php?ResourceId=1638)
School Data - Renate Houts
Out-of-school Data - Bob Bradley
Health Data - Bob Bradley
Day Two - Part III
(http://lecb.physics.lsa.umich.edu/CWIS/browser.php?ResourceId=1639)
Stats Presentation: Control Variables - Renate Houts
Day Three
(http://lecb.physics.lsa.umich.edu/CWIS/browser.php?ResourceId=1640)
Analytic Strategies - Renate Houts and Peg Burchinal
Data are available for the other phases of the NICHD STUDY OF EARLY CHILD CARE AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT (SECCYD). See: SECCYD Phase II, 1996-1999 (ICPSR 21941), SECCYD Phase III, 2000-2004 (ICPSR 21942), SECCYD Phase IV, 2005-2008 (ICPSR 22361).

The overall purpose of this study was to examine the influence of
variations in early childcare histories on the psychological
development of infants and toddlers from a variety of family
backgrounds. This general objective was addressed through a
prospective, longitudinal study of the experiences of 1,364 children and
their families, which took into account the
complex interactions among child characteristics and those
of the human and physical environments in which
the children were reared.

Research Goals

The specific research aims were as follows:

Examining the relationship between infants' childcare
arrangements (defined in terms of hours, type, quality, and
stability of care and the age at which the child entered care)
and children's concurrent and long-term development.
Specifically, the study investigated the association between
children's experiences in childcare and their social, emotional,
language, and cognitive development. The social-emotional
assessments included measures of attachment, independence,
compliance, behavior problems, prosocial and antisocial behavior,
and general competence in interacting with peers. Cognitive variables
include general developmental level and problem solving skills. Language
assessments incorporated measures of children's expressive and receptive communicative competence.

Examining whether the social ecology of the home
moderates the effects of childcare, i.e., whether children
from different home environments are differentially affected by
similar childcare experiences. The study examined the
moderating effects of parents' values and attitudes,
psychological adjustment and mental health, stress and social
support, child-rearing practices, time use, interactions with the
child, the marital relationship, and family demographics.

Examining whether individual differences among children
moderate the effects of infant care on child development. The
study examined the moderating effects of such child
characteristics as age, sex, health, birth order, and
temperament.

Identify demographic and family characteristics
associated with families' childcare decisions. The study examined whether
specific childcare arrangements are related to
the parents' social class, marital status, psychological
adjustment and personality, child-rearing values and attitudes,
parenting practices, stress, social support, marital
relationship, and the availability of childcare in the community.

Provide a natural history of infant care in the
1990s, and help establish a baseline of data pertaining to the
kinds of care being used by families. Whereas other national
databases, such as those provided by the United States Census Bureau, provide
static estimates of the number of children in different types of
childcare, this network study supplements that knowledge
with longitudinal data on successive enrollments into day care at
various ages, patterns of arrangements used concurrently and over
time, and the stability of arrangements during the first three
years of life. One of the most valuable aspects of the
collaborative study is the opportunity it provides to obtain a
more complete and accurate picture of patterns of infant care
used by families today. Census surveys use only gross categories
of care (e.g., center vs. in-home). In this study, more fine-grained
information regarding the types of centers and home-care
facilities was gathered.

Examine the consequences for families of maternal
employment and childcare choices. Family relationships,
parental mental health, family stress, and so on, are not just
inputs to child development or moderators of childcare effects,
they are also outcomes. High-quality childcare may alleviate
family stress and enhance parental adjustment. Low-quality childcare may add to the stress parents experience. Although the main
focus in the study was on the effect of childcare on the child, the
study also examined the effect of childcare on the family.

Identify demographic characteristics of childcare
associated with childcare quality. Of interest to policy makers
is another aspect of the study, the investigation of those
regulatory characteristics that predict care of higher quality.
These characteristics included the level and type of caregiver
training, the size of the childcare group, the auspices of the
childcare program (public/private, profit/nonprofit,
independent/chain, employer-sponsored/church-based), whether the
facility was licensed or unlicensed, the level of payment and
fees, and whether the caregiver was a relative of the family.

Data File Organization

309 data files were compiled for this study and are organized
into 3 main groups:

Analytical Data Sets (ADS) -- The raw data were examined and
composites defined by small groups of individual principal investigators
according to the demographic, family, childcare, and child outcome content of
the data. The psychometric and distributional qualities of the variables along
with site differences was examined. A set of variables that was
psychometrically and distributionally acceptable to be used in analytic
analyses was designed to test the study hypotheses. These data files comprise Parts
1-42 of the study data material.

Supplemental Data Sets -- New and revised analysis variables as
well as across-time mean scores and primary composites were produced as a
supplement to the original Analytical Datasets. These data files comprise
Parts 43-55 of the study data material.

Raw Data Sets -- The raw data were made available and
comprise Parts 56-309 of the study data material.

Training Workshop Recordings

A three day summer training workshop on the SECCYD was put on by the NICHD at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Recordings of that workshop, coordinated with the Powerpoint slides used during presentations, are freely available to the public at the addresses described below.

Guidelines for Applying for Restricted Data

ICPSR offers two methods of accessing the restricted-use data from this study:

secure dissemination of the microdata

remote access to the microdata via ICPSR's Virtual Data Enclave (VDE)

Which Method Should You Choose?

Applicants with a terminal degree (e.g., PhD, MD, DrPH, JD, etc) in a social science field and an appointment at a research institution are likely to
be able to access the data via secure dissemination. Most other applicants will need to access these restricted-use data via the VDE.

Information to Help You Complete Your Request

Applicants should be prepared to provide the following:

Project description supporting need to access the data

IRB document (approval or exemption)

Data Use Agreement signed by the Investigator and a legal representative of the institution

Secure Dissemination: DUA is available within the request system

VDE: DUA is emailed to requester after request is initiated

Data security plan

Secure Dissemination: created within the request system

VDE: In DUA as Attachment A

Roster of research staff who will access the data; may need to include IT staff able to view the data or access the computer where the data are hosted

This data collection may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is prohibited. To protect respondent privacy, the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development is restricted from general dissemination. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete an Agreement for the Use of Confidential Data, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research. Apply for access to these data through the ICPSR restricted data contract portal, which can be accessed via the study home page .

Any public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public.
Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

Dataset(s)

WARNING: Because this study has many datasets, the download all files option has been suppressed, and you will need to download one dataset at a time.

Study Description

Citation

United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development: Phase I, 1991-1995 [United States]. ICPSR21940-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2010-01-08. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR21940.v1

The variables ID and F24HOBCY have the same label stated as "CC Observation Cycle". The label for the variable ID should be "SITE/LOC/SUBJECT ID." This effects the following files:

21940\Data\Raw\SAS\da21940-0265_Raw-F24H24.stc

21940\Data\Raw\SAS\da21940-0266_Raw-F24H24QL.stc

The variables ID and F36HOBCY have the same label stated as "CC Observation Cycle". The label for the variable ID should be "SITE/LOC/SUBJECT ID." This effects the following files:

21940\Data\Raw\SAS\da21940-0267_Raw-F24H36.stc

21940\Data\Raw\SAS\da21940-0268_Raw-F24H36QL.stc

Beginning with the time of enrollment, families were scheduled for extensive periodic data collections. Data from 10 sites were collected at 5 major assessment points: 1 month (enrollment), 6 months, 15 months, 24 months, and 36 months. Month 1 enrollment data were collected in a visit to the children's homes. At six months, data were collected in the children's homes and at the children's primary childcare arrangements. At 15, 24, and 36 months, data were collected in the children's homes, childcare arrangements, and in the laboratory. Phone call data were collected every three months between major assessments.

The NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development was conducted by a network of investigators called the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. The network was led and managed by a steering committee that included an independent chairperson, one representative from each of the grantee sites, one representative from the data center, and one representative from NICHD. The steering committee established policies and procedures that governed the operations of the network. The progress of the study was monitored by NICHD and by the steering committee with guidance from an advisory board which was nominated by the director of NICHD.

Methodology

Study Purpose:
To examine the influence of variations in early childcare histories on the psychological development of infants and toddlers from a variety of family backgrounds.

Study Design:
The SECCYD is a multi-site, prospective, longitudinal study of the experiences of 1,364 children and their families. Respondents were sampled from a catchment of some 6,189 children. Children's development was assessed via trained observers, interviewers, questionnaires, and direct testing. Measures were taken on many facets of children's development, such as social, emotional, intellectual, as well as language development, behavioral problems and adjustment, and physical health.

Sample:

Participants were selected in accordance with a conditionally random sampling plan, designed to ensure that the recruited families (a) included mothers who planned to work or to go to school full-time (60 percent) or part-time (20 percent) in the child's first year, as well as some who planned to stay at home with the child (20 percent), and (b) reflected the demographic diversity (economic, educational, and ethnic) of the sites. Both two-parent and single-parent families were included. The major exclusionary criteria used were (a) mothers younger than 18 years of age at the time of the child's birth, (b) families who did not anticipate remaining in the catchment area for at least 3 years, (c) children with obvious disabilities at birth or who remained in the hospital more than 7 days postpartum, and (d) mothers not sufficiently conversant in English.

Analyses have indicated that the data do reflect the natural distributions of these factors in the catchment. Therefore, inferences from this data can be made directly to the catchment without back-weighting for the sampling factors. In addition, analyses have shown that the NICHD data reflect to large degree the natural distributions of certain factors measured in the 1990 Census data. However, the NICHD data are not representative in the statistical sense, and therefore inference to the nation as a whole is not possible. Comparisons to other databases, national or otherwise, should be made with extreme caution.

Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of
disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major
statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to
these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

Performed recodes and/or calculated derived variables.

Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

Version(s)

Original ICPSR Release: 2009-10-29

Version History:

2014-11-21 releasing additional documentation - Measures Chart

2014-10-21 Releasing questionnaires and user guide.

2010-01-26 User Agreement updated.

2010-01-08 Various data and documentation was resupplied. Other files were processed differently or had errors fixed.